Animal-trap.



J. SLEPICKA.

ANIMAL TRAP.

Armcmlou FILED APR. z2. 191s.

1. ,284, 8G 1. Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

INVENTOR .ATTORNEY i @FFTQE JOSEPH SLEPICKA, OF TOBIAS, NEBRASKA.

^ ANIMAL-TRAP.

Application filed April 22, 1918.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH SLEPICKA, a citizen of' the United States,residing at Tobias, in thev county of Saline and State of Nebraska, haveinvented certain new and useful improvements in Animal-Traps, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to animal traps and has for its object theproduction of a. simple and etlicient animal trap which is especiallydesigned for the purpose of catching squirrels and gophers, and thelike.

Another object of this invention is the production of' a simple andeflicient trap which is formed from a plurality of sheet metal bands orstrips which may be cheaply and conveniently assembled for the purposeof producing a very efficient and quickly operating trap.

lith these and other objects in vie-w this invention consists of certainnovel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as will behereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of the trap,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof` Fig. 3 is a section taken online 33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow.

By referring to the drawings, it will be seen that 1 designates the baseof the trap which is preferably formed of a rectangular construction,the base being formed of a sheet of metal constituting a band, the rearend thereof tapering as indicated in Fig. l by the numeral 2. A jawsupporting frame 3 is connected to the base 1 and comprises asubstantially rectangular frame having an upwardlv curved end 11 asshown in Fig. 3. rI he frame 3 is preferably formed from a single stripof material and is secured at its lower end 5 to the base 1 and extendsupwardly for the purpose of constituting a substantially rectangularframe, the opposite ends of the bands extending under the base 1 asindicated at 6 and being provided with an upwardly extending foot 7, thefoot 7 being secured to the inner face of the base l as shown in Fig. 3.It of course should be understood that the frame 3 may be secured to thebase by any suitable or desired means such as rivets and the like.

A jaw 8 is pivotally mounted upon the frame 3 by means of a pivot pin 9upon each side thereof and this jaw is substantially U- Specification ofLetters l'atent.

Patented Nov. 12, 1918.

Serial No. 230,129.

shaped. The inner ends of jaw 8 are secured by means of a substantiallysemi-circular connecting band 10 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of thedrawings, the bands 10 being curved downwardly and being connected tothe coil spring 11. This coil spring 11 is secured at its inner end tothe band 10, and. the outer end of the coil spring 11 is secured to apivot pin 12 carried by the operating or releasing lever 13. This lever13 is pivotally mounted upon a pivot pin 14C upon the base 1 and thelever is adapted to be swung downwardly upon the base l so as to havethe finger 15 thereof overhang the rear end of the base as shown inFigs. 1 and Q of the drawings. lVhen the lever 13 is in this position,the spring 11 will be in a proper position for holding the jaw 8 in afolded position or normally urging the same to a closed position. lVhenit desired to place the base upon the trap, the lever 13 may be swung toa vertical position` thereby reli eving the tension from the spring 11and preventing tlie jaw 8 from accidentally swinging to a closedposition which would be likely to cause an injury to the hand of' thepperator while he is iilling the trap with iait.

A hanger bracket 16 is supported upon the frame 3 and this hangerbracket 16 is provided with a supporting eye 17 at the lower endthereof, within which supporting eye 17 is pivotallv mounted the baitsupporting wire 18. This bait supporting wire 18 is provided with a baitsupporting loop 19 which is coiled therefrom and the wire 18 is alsoprovided with a rearwardly eX- tendmg trigger engaging loop or hook 20.A trigger link 21 is connected tothe transversely extending end 6 of theframe 3 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, and this trigger link21 is adapted to engage or tit behind the hook 20 for the purpose ofholding the jaw 8 in an open position. The link trigger 21 extends inback of the semicircular band 10 carried by the jaw 8 and will lirmlyhold the jaw 8 in an open position. As soon as an animal enters the trapbetween the base 1 and the jaw 8 for the purpose of keeping the baitcarried by the loo`p 19, the slight pressure upon the loop 19 will causethe hook 20 to be released from the trigger link 21, the spring 11 thenforcing the jaw 8 to a closed position and firmly holding the animalbetween the outer end of the jaw 8 and the out-er end of the base 1.

rlhe link 2l will then swing downwardly to the position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 2 and the animal will then be firmly Aheld in engagementwith the trap until released byY the person who has set the trap.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that avery simple andefficient animal trap has been produced which may be formed of a veryminimum number of parts and which parts may be veryv quickly and readilyassembled'. lt of course should be understood that certain obviousdetail mechanical changes may be made in the present device withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, so long as these changesfall within the scope of the appended claims.

It of course should be understood that any suitable or desired anchoringmeans may be employed for securing the frame l in a set position andpreventing the frame from being carried from place to place bythe animalafter the same is caught within the trap. A suitable chain may beemployed for this purpose.

lVhat is claimed is:

l. An animal trap oi the class described comprising a base, a jawpivctally supported upon saidbase, a spring connected to said jaw fornormally urging the same to a closed position, a trigger engaging saidjaw for holding the jaw in an open position, and a tension controllinglever carried by said base and engaging said spring for permittingtension to be released and applied to said spring.

2. An animal tra-p of the class described comprising a base, a framecarried thereby, a jaw pivotally' mounted upon said frame, a springconnected to said jaw for swinging the same to a closed position afterthe same is released, a tension controlling lever pivotally mounted uponsaid frame, and means for connecting said framerto one side of the aclosed position when said trigger means is released, a tensioncontrolling leverV pivotally mounted `upon said frame, means forconnecting said tension means to one side of the pivot point of saidlever whereby the tension of said` spring will be controlled as saidlever is swung upon said frame, and said lever provided with aprojecting linger overhanging the rear portion of said frame' forlimiting the downward swinging movement of said lever upon said frame.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JOSEPH SLEPICKA.

Vitnesses:

F. H. ALLEN, A. H. GRAYsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, byaddressngvthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

